Yemen’s Houthi militia has claimed an attack on a Zodiac Maritime-managed LPG carrier in the Mediterranean Sea and an MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company vessel in the Arabian Sea.
The statement by military spokesman Yahya Saree came amid a trend of Houthi forces claiming attacks on vessels in a wide range of areas.
Saree claimed in a post on X that the militia’s forces “fired several missiles at the Israeli ship Essex in the Mediterranean Sea while it was violating the decision ban that prevents entry into occupied Palestinian ports”.
This is a reference to the 35,209-cbm Essex (built 2009).
Clarksons lists it as owned by Japanese leasing company Orix Maritime, with the technical manager Zodiac Maritime, a UK company controlled by Monaco-based Israeli shipowner Eyal Ofer.
TradeWinds understands that the ship is safely in Egyptian waters and there has been no sign of anything unusual. There are no reports of any damage or crew injuries.
Ambrey Analytics said the Essex had traded between Alexandria and Port Said, Egypt, and had not called at any Israeli port in recent weeks.
“The vessel was not further offshore Egypt than 15 nautical miles [28 km] over the prior week. The Houthi language indicated they did not hit the vessel,” the security company added.
The group has claimed a total of three operations in the Mediterranean so far, but this is the first time it has named a ship.
On 3 May, the Houthis announced the start of a “fourth phase” of escalating attacks against shipping heading to Israeli ports on 3 May.
“Merchant shipping is advised to conduct thorough vessel affiliation checks and to consult their security provider when transiting the south-eastern Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and western Indian Ocean,” Ambrey said.
Three operations
Saree mentioned “three specific operations” in his Friday post.
The first was an attack using “a number of missiles” against the “MSC Alexandria” in the Arabian Sea.
No such ship exists, but there is a 14,000-teu MSC Alexandra (built 2010), controlled by Gianluigi Aponte’s MSC.
MSC has been contacted for comment.
The second was against the 50,800-dwt Greek-controlled bulker Yannis (built 2009). TradeWinds has previously reported that the Eastern Mediterranean Maritime ship saw a missile land nearby while off the coast of Yemen on Thursday.
A missile landed off its port side 98 nautical miles south of the port city of Hodeidah, the Royal Navy’s UK Maritime Trade Operations said.
All crew members were safe and no damage was reported. The ship was continuing to its next port of call, UKMTO said.
The Iran-backed Houthis have launched dozens of missile and drone strikes against shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November to show support for Palestinians in the Gaza War.
The European Union naval operation Aspides has logged nearly 150 incidents since 19 November.
